Today I Learned: Chance the Rapper Donated $1 Million to Chicago Schools

On the surface, this sounds like a feel good story. And certainly, the critically-acclaimed hip hop artist’s gesture is worthy of praise. But his donation magnifies the tragic conditions facing Chicago’s public school students.

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According to the New York Times, “His gift comes at a moment when the city is grappling with a crisis over funding its schools. The rapper, who was educated in the Chicago’s public schools, had been a vocal advocate for fixing the budget issues confronting the school system, which is the nation’s third largest, serving over 400,000 students. It is facing a budget deficit that could bring an early end to the school year.”

Chance has been an outspoken critic of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for his mishandling of the budget crisis. Indeed, the two met to discuss the matter following Chance’s donation. Exiting the meeting, Chance bluntly told reporters that the tete a tete was “unsuccessful” but he vowed to continue fighting for Chicago schools.

As a thank you to Chance for his commitment to education and community, let’s all take a minute to appreciate a super awesome tune:

About David Tomar

David A. Tomar is an author and journalist who has written extensively on education, music, pop culture and basically any other topic that doesn’t involve math.

Tomar catapulted to notoriety with his controversial and eye-opening 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education article, “The Shadow Scholar.” Writing under the pseudonym Ed Dante (a name now committed to perpetuity by its own Wikipedia entry), Tomar spilled the beans on his decade-long career as an academic ghostwriter while simultaneously announcing his retirement from the business.

Tomar has written for The New York Times and Huffington Post, and has appeared on The Today Show and ABC World News. Tomar is also a long-suffering Philadelphia Phillies fan who is not above hurling objects at his television during baseball season.